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Blueshirts
The Army Comrades Association, (ACA), later named the National Guard, then Young Ireland and finally League of Youth but better known by the nickname The Blueshirts ( ), was a short-lived right-wing organisation in the Irish Free State in the early 1930s. The practical purpose of the organisation was to provide physical protection for political groups such as Cumann na nGaedheal from intimidation and attack by the anti-Treaty IRA. R. M. Douglas, "Architects of the Resurrection: Ailtirí na hAiséirghe and the Fascist 'New Order' in Ireland, Manchester University Press, ISBN 0-7190-7998-5 Some of its members would go on to aid the Fascists during the Spanish Civil War. Most of the political parties whose meetings the Blueshirts protected would merge to become Fine Gael, and members of that party are still sometimes nicknamed "Blueshirts". Origins and Early History In February 1932, the Fianna Fáil party was elected to lead the Irish Free State government. On 18 March 1932, the new government suspended the Public Safety Act, which meant in practice, the lifting of the ban on a number of organisations including the IRA. Some IRA political prisoners were also released around the same time. The IRA and many released prisoners began a “campaign of unrelenting hostility” against those associated with the former Cumann na nGaedheal Irish Free State government.Mark Tierney, OSB, MA “Modern Ireland”, Gill & Macmillan, 1972 p 175-182 There were many cases of intimidation, attacks on persons, breaking up of Cumann na nGaedheal political meetings in the coming months.Mark Tierney, OSB, MA “Modern Ireland”, Gill & Macmillan, 1972 p 175-182 In view of the increased activities of the IRA, Irish Free State army Commandant Ned Cronin founded the Army Comrades Association in early 1932.Mark Tierney, OSB, MA “Modern Ireland”, Gill & Macmillan, 1972 p 175-182 As its name suggested, it was designed for old army comrades, a society for ex officers and men of the Free State army.Mark Tierney, OSB, MA “Modern Ireland”, Gill & Macmillan, 1972 p 175-182 The Blueshirts felt that freedom of speech was being repressed, and began to provide security at Cumann na nGaedheal events. This led to several serious clashes between the IRA and the ACA. In August 1932, Dr. Thomas F. O'Higgins, a Cumann na nGaedheal TD became the leader of the ACA. By September 1932, it had over 30,000 members.Mark Tierney, OSB, MA “Modern Ireland”, Gill & Macmillan, 1972 p 175-182 Eoin O'Duffy becomes leader In January 1933, the Fianna Fáil government called a surprise election, which the government won comfortably. The election campaign saw a serious escalation of rioting between IRA and ACA supporters. In April 1933, the ACA began wearing the distinctive blue shirt uniform. Eoin O'Duffy was a guerrilla leader in the IRA during the Irish War of Independence, a National Army general during the Civil War, and the police commissioner in the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1933. After de Valera's re-election in February 1933, Valera dismissed O'Duffy as commissioner, and in July of that year, O'Duffy was offered and accepted leadership of the ACA and renamed it the National Guard. He re-modelled the organisation, adopting elements of European fascism, such as the Roman straight-arm salute, uniforms and huge rallies. Membership of the new organisation became limited to people who were Irish or whose parents "profess the Christian faith". O'Duffy was an admirer of Benito Mussolini, and the Blueshirts adopted corporatism as their chief political aim. According to the constitution he adopted, the organisation was to have the following objectives:Maurice Manning, “The Blueshirts”, Dublin, 1970 Because of the later attraction of the group's leader Eoin O'Duffy to authoritarian nationalist movements on the European Continent, the Blueshirts are sometimes compared to the MVSN (Blackshirts) of Italy and to some extent performed a similar function.See, for example, here and here. Archived 2009-10-31.O’Halpin, E. (1999). Defending Ireland: The Irish State and its Enemies since 1922. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-820426-4. Some of the Blueshirts later went to fight for Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War and were anti-communist in nature, however historian R.M. Douglas has stated that it is dubious to portray them as an "Irish manifestation of fascism". March on Dublin The National Guard planned to hold a parade in Dublin in August 1933. It was to proceed to Glasnevin Cemetery, stopping briefly on Leinster lawn in front of the Irish parliament, where speeches were to be held. The goal of the parade was to commemorate past leaders of Ireland, Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins and Kevin O'Higgins. It is clear that the IRA and other fringe groups representing various socialists intended to confront the Blueshirts if they did march in Dublin. The government banned the parade, remembering Mussolini's March on Rome, and fearing a coup d'état. Decades later, de Valera told Fianna Fáil politicians that in late summer 1933, he was unsure whether the Irish Army would obey his orders to suppress the perceived threat, or whether the soldiers would support the Blueshirts (who included many ex-soldiers). O'Duffy accepted the ban and insisted that he was committed to upholding the law. Instead, several provincial parades took place to commemorate the deaths of Griffith, O'Higgins and Collins. De Valera saw this move as defying his ban, and the Blueshirts were declared an illegal organisation. Fine Gael and the National Corporate Party In response to the banning of the National Guard, Cumann na nGaedheal and the National Centre Party merged to form a new party, Fine Gael, on 3 September 1933. O'Duffy became its first president, with W. T. Cosgrave and James Dillon acting as vice-presidents. The National Guard changed into the Young Ireland Association, and became part of a youth wing of the party. The party's aim was to create a corporatist United Ireland within the British Commonwealth. The 1934 local elections were a trial of strength for the new Fine Gael and the Fianna Fáil government. When Fine Gael won only 6 out of 23 local elections, O’Duffy lost much of his authority and prestige.Mark Tierney, OSB, MA “Modern Ireland”, Gill & Macmillan, 1972 p 175-182 The Blueshirts began to disintegrate by mid-1934.Mark Tierney, OSB, MA “Modern Ireland”, Gill & Macmillan, 1972 p 175-182 The Blueshirts floundered also on the plight of farmers during the Economic War, as the Blueshirts failed to provide a solution. Following disagreements with his Fine Gael colleagues, O'Duffy left the party, although most of the Blueshirts stayed in Fine Gael. In December 1934, O'Duffy attended the Montreux Fascist conference in Switzerland. He then founded the National Corporate Party, and later raised an "Irish Brigade" that took General Francisco Franco's side in the Spanish Civil War. See also *Ailtirí na hAiséirghe Notes and references Sources * Eunan O'Halpin, (1999). 'Defending Ireland: The Irish State and its Enemies since 1922'. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-820426-4. * Mike Cronin, The Blueshirts and Irish Politics * Michael O'Riordan. 1979 Connolly Column. New Books Dublin. ASIN: B0006E3ABG * J. Bower Bell. 1983 The Secret Army: The IRA 1916-1979. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-52090-7. * Tim Pat Coogan. De Valera. * Michael Farrell. 1980. Northern Ireland: The Orange State. London: Pluto Press. ISBN 0-86104-300-6. * F.S.L. Lyons. Ireland Since the Famine. * Maurice Manning. The Blueshirts. * The Blueshirts - fascism in Ireland? The Irish Story * Cian McMahon, The Blueshirts and the Abyssinian Crisis. History Ireland * Donal O Driscoll, When Dev deaulted on the Land annuities. History Ireland * Niall Cunningham, Eoin O'Duffy, Ireland's answer to Mussolini Category:Far-right politics in Ireland Category:Irish Free State Category:Political parties established in 1932 Category:Defunct political parties in the Republic of Ireland Category:Fascist movements Category:Political parties disestablished in 1933 Category:Clothes in politics